A white professor at a historically black university has filed a lawsuit, saying she was targeted and fired because of her race.
Donna Satterlee, a tenured assistant professor of human ecology and child development who had worked at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for more than 20 years, filed a lawsuit against the school in July after being terminated last year.
The complaint includes a variety of allegations, including harassment, disparate treatment, and race-based discrimination.
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Satterlee says that the university president, Heidi Anderson, “has expressed a preference for African-Americans in hiring of faculty and staff and the upper-administration of the university exhibits a marked bias against Caucasian and Asian citizens.”
She also notes that “Black faculty and administrators are paid vastly higher than others of similar or better qualifications.” According to the complaint, department chair Grace Namwamba confirmed this to Dr. Satterlee. When Satterlee raised concerns, Namwamba allegedly responded “in a highly intimidating manner causing extreme anxiety,” prompting Satterlee to seek a protective order with the human resources office.
Satterlee also alleges “unsanitary workspaces” and “unsafe work conditions” in her suit. “There was mold in her office, sticky classroom flooring, whereas other Black faculty were given preferential treatment,” according to the court filing.
One of the central points of the lawsuit revolves around Satterlee’s denial of promotion to full professorship. Despite receiving a committee rating of 82.2 points out of 100, with 70 being the necessary threshold for promotion, Namwamba recommended that the school deny Satterlee’s promotion. Her application for promotion was ultimately denied.
According to the lawsuit, “Denial of promotion happens only in the rarest of rare cases.”
